Margarita's International Recipes

Jamaica

Chicken Fricassee

Chicken Fricassee


Chicken Fricassee is one of Jamaican's favorite ways to eat chicken, and it's no wonder. It's a comforting and homey dish. There are endless variations on ingredients, but the method is what really distinguishes it: you first marinade the chicken, then you fry it, and then you braise it in the marinade. It's cousin, chicken in a brown sauce, is similar - but the chicken spends less time in the frying pan and more time braising.

It's usually served with rice and peas, but I served it on its own.

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Jamaican Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 1-2 Scotch Bonnet peppers (optional)
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooking oil
  • 1 Tbsp ketchup
  • 1+ cups water

Directions

Place the chicken parts in a large bowl. Add the soy sauce, tomato, onion, celery rib, garlic, green onions, pepper, thyme, brown sugar and paprika. Marinade for at least 1 hour.

Remove chicken from marinade, reserving the marinade for later. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot and working in batches, fry the chicken parts for 4 minutes per side. Remove from oil and set aside.

Drain all but 3 Tbsp of oil from the frying pan (alternatively transfer 3 Tbsp of the oil to a clean large saute pan). Return to medium heat.

Add the marinade to the pan and cook until the onions caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in ketchup and cook for a couple of more minutes.

Return chicken to the pot and add 1 cup of water. Cook over medium heat, turning occasionally until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce, about 30 - 40 minutes. Add more water if the sauce dries up before the chicken finishes cooking.


Adapted from several recipes

See also: Creamy Chicken-and-Mushroom Fricassee, Cuban Fricase de Pollo.


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